The tale of Lillia
by French Punk
Summary: HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MERMAID SAGA, HAD TO PICK UP SOMETHING. Lillia is a dryad. Heartbroken after she has been dumped by her human boyfriend, she refuses to move, unable to tend to the lands of Ilshal and the animals there.
1. Chapter 1

As usual, the forest was calm.

Birds chirped happily, flying above the trees of the forest, or simply pecking at seeds lying on the ground, warthogs crossed a muddy trench with the rest of their herd, wolves taught their childs how to chase rabbits out in the nearby fields, hawks preyed onto mice and brough them back to their families high on their lairs in the nearby mountains, squirrels already started making provisions for the coming winter, that was so far to the other animals, and yet so close for them , bears left their caves and roamed around the forest, deers drank from the river.

Nature lived in harmony in this place. The only human settlement was more than a day away from this paradise, and the folks there feared to dwell in the woods and the fields of Ilshal, still believing in the legends of old, that if one would harm the forest, they would suffer the wrath of its guardian.

Once, one of the rich city-folks came in the small town, with sturdy workmen and metal monstruosities. He went out in the sacred lands, against the advice of the locals cutting down trees and chasing the animals, they believed, that this land, was theirs.

This foolish mistake led to their demise. Nobody ever found their bodies for they became part of the forest, their bodies forming the base for new trees, allowing the forest to grow bigger, giving them a second shot at life, while their mechanical creations were crushed by the steadfast defender of Ilshal.

But today, things changed. The animals in the forest grew anxious as the sun went higher and higher, and they still did not hear the usual singing of their protector.

The wolves were the first to search for her, followed by the bears, the hawks, the bees, and even the fearful rabbits, squirrels and mice. Thanks to the tracking senses of the canine hunters, they found her under the ancient and gigantic oak tree to whom she was linked, crying.

They made a circle around her, unsure of what to do. What could possible upset Lillia, the Dryad who knew no sadness nor anger ? The gentle soul who was always so inexplicably happy and positive, was rolled up in a ball, tears streaming down her delicate face as whimpers escaped from her.

Slowly, hesitantly, the oldest and most scarred of the wolves approached her, placing his paw onto her shoulder. After a moment of silence, the ever-young dryad looked up.

She had long, loose, light green hair, falling to below her waist, shrouding her as she laid there it did not hide her face however, the long cascade falling down her back. Her round, gentle auburn eyes were bloodshot from the tears, and her innocent expression was broken by intense pain and sadness.

She was an immortal being, guardian of the lands of Ilshal. And yet, she was still innocent and childlike, the nature around her being her only companion for centuries... until now.

She had met a boy Mat, a young student in geology who intruded her lands, ignoring the warnings of the locals as no more than local folklore.

Lillia had presented herself as a normal girl, wearing shorts and a shirt, passing the green spots onto her body as nothing more than a rare affliction. Discovering the human world through him, they rapidly bonded but she made the mistake to trust him, enough to show him her true form. He fled, his mind unable to process what he saw, his unshakable faith in science leading him to deny her.

Heartbroken, she went with a heavy heart under the oak tree to whom she was linked, the first tree of these lands, planted when the Earth was still young .

And it was there that the animals, her people, found her.

The squirrels were the first ones to understand the fact they could not talk did not mean that they were stupid. Trying to shake their protector out of her trance, they renounced when she still did not move after an entire week of immobility.

That is when the hawks picked up an intruder onto their land... a young human boy, lost and terrified.

The animals assembled the warthogs grunted in preparation, the hawks screeched imperiously, demanding silence, the wolves licked their young ones and ordered them to go home, the deers assembled in a pack, and all of the small animals watched the commotion from their trees and holes.

Slowly, cautiously, the boy walked through the woods, intending on finding Lillia again but it was too late for him.

He raised his head as a sound akin to thunder resoanted in the woods, making him panick until he realized that the sound was moving toward him.

Running like he never ran, the city-folk could not keep up for long he reached a cliff, and, looking back, his eyes widened in terror.

The largest crowd of live animals stood in front of him, grunting, screeching, howling.

He had but a second to scream, as they all charged toward him like a cannon ball.

Sent flying against the sheer might of the charge, he screamed in terror as he fell down, closing his eyes, each beat of his heart feeling like his last, as the horde looked at him from above.

Finally, he was silenced as he hit the cool water his mouth filled with the liquid, choking him as he helplessly kicked his feet and swung his arms, to no avail.

His last supploy of oxygen soon ran dry, his consciousness fading, the saltwater stinging his eyes, his death unescapable. The only regret of the student was that he never got to see her again.

As his vison was reduced to but a small circly in a see of blackness, he felt a stinging pain in his entire body and mind, torturing him, his mouth opening once more in pain.

''You have been forsaken, son of the mud. You betrayed the trust of the last daughter of my sister Earth, and for that, there can be no greater punishment than the pain you're suffering.''

After what felt like hours of pain, a voice resonated in his mind, ice cold and disappointed, simply stating a fact as it prevented him from dying, the pain and the horror of drowning repeating over and over, his body unable to finally give up and let him die. He could but kick his body weakly under the pain, silenced by the surrounding water.

''But'', continued the voice, becoming a little warmer and releasing its grasp on his body, slightly easing his pain, ''there is still some use to you. You will fix what you have broken but you will not do so as a son of the mud. You will be reborn your body shall be reshaped by my will, and your mind vanquished, so that you can start anew... such is the will of the Ocean.''

Unable to process the words of the ladylike voice, he felt a slice in his neck, unbearable suffering flooding his very being, outclassing by far the previous choking sensation. It felt as if his very humanity was pouring out of the cuts but, finally, after a few seconds, he felt a rush of air in himself, the pain all but vanishing. Even more terrified, he placed his hand onto the sides of his neck, and jerked as he felt the slits there moving around – gills.

He had gills.

No way. No way this was happening.

Just as he thought that, several tendrils shot up from the water around him, wrapping around his arms and legs and tightening mercilessly.

He gasped as the possessor of the appendages finally came into view it was the biggest octopus he had ever seen. The thing turned toward him and kicked itself above him lazily, his tentacles holding him in place as its orifice aimed at his face.

Mat didn't have time to understand what was the goal of the creature, as it shot its ink right in his face, forcing him to close his eyes but he was unable to keep some of it from touching them, giving him a burning feeling onto them, his mouth opening once more into a scream, this time resonating oddly in the water. If he had been more conscious, he would of denied the possibility of it happening, but his perception of what was possible and what wasn't was long gone.

The octopus slowly moved around, spreading its ink across the boy's body, whom only realized that the ''ink'' wasn't actually ink when he was fully covered in it.

It felt more like a sticky goo, covering his entire skin. Thinking hard despite the pain, he tried to come up with a logic explanation – when the octopus released him, and the goo upon him dissolved into his skin.

Never in his life could he had imagined such level of suffering. The previous minutes had felt like living hell, but this was beyond pain. It was worse than anything the human mind could ever come up with. Torture was but a dull world compared to his fate.

His skin reacted almost immediatly. Every inch of his being felt like it had been ignited, burning more, more and more he could feel entire chunks of his muscular mass burning away. As he thought his pain could never get worse, his legs forced themselves together, against his will.

As soon as they did, the suffering doubled, the sickening sound of bones cracking echoing in the words along with his screams of pain, which had passed from prayers to God for death to simply animal-like cries.

His spine reshaped, his bones formed something new his flesh was modifying itself, strecthing to become longer and longer, only adding more and more sensations to his overloaded mind.

Mat did'nt know how much time passed like this. For all he knew, it could of been seconds, minutes, hours, days, of perhaps years.

All he knew was that the pain finally disappeared, and he breathed deeply, keeping his eyes shut.

It was only an hour later that he opened them, risking a peek down at his body, his eyes instantly widening.

''No fucking way.''


	2. Chapter 2

"No", whispered Mat breathlessly, his voice now way lighter and softer, "No way."

He had finally dared to open his eyes and dared to look down at his body, only to discover his changes. He would of screamed, had he not been entirely stunned and unable to process the sight.

His body was now svelt, his skin silky smooth (and so, so much softer as a result) and now a creamy white, his soulders rounder, his torso having lost all of its muscle and hair as his waist had drawn in and his stomach flattened. His torso had become very thin, making his already big hips look even bigger. His chest ached, as he realized two large breasts had sprouted forth from it. They were of average size... and completely covered in orange fish scales. The change had worked its way up to his head and neck, as he felt his neck begin had shrivel and became skinnier. His Adam's apple had dissolved from within his throat so fast that he didn't even have time to gag and hack. His nose lost its general shape, as it became softer and lost any sign of acne. His eyebrows shrank, as bits of his bushy brows fell onto the ground. He now possessed a pair of very thin feminine eyebrows.

His cheeks became softer and much more rosy, as his goatee had fallen off of his chin in one small clump. His eyelashes had grown and became much longer, as his lips became less dry and puffed out slightly. His face had apparently shifted into a more feminine structure, losing most of its masculine shape in the process. Not the slightest facial hints of Mat's previous gender remained, his face now looked like it belonged to a young woman! However, the transformation still wasn't done. His scalp had been set aflame and his hair had grown out at an alarming rate. His short brown hair had quickly turned into long flowing orange locks. This hair had quickly reached his shoulders at a speed to fast for him to notice back then.

But the most noticeable of all of his changes, was that where his smooth, hairless legs once stood, a majestic fish tail now proudly sat, bronze and orange scales glimmering in the faint sunlight, a couple of golden patches here and there outlining it all. At the end of his new member, the tail turned to a darker orange, becoming a crimson red. And beyond then, was his regal fin. It was oh so beautiful to him – who was now a her.

No, wait. She – he... couldn't be okay with this. It wasn't right. It wasn't possible, he didn't want it, it was forced onto him and absolutely unappropria-

"Do not think your rebirth is achieved", said the voice once more, this time seeming far more familiar to him now that he had... changed.

"This is but the first step of reshaping your body. Now is the time for your mind to be vanquished."

As soon as those words were spoken, Mat felt an unbearable pain inside of his head. Placing his soft hands onto it, he started screaming in his now higher-pitched voice, the pain from his change coming back again, only stronger. It was as if someone was taking his memories and tearing them away – destroying his humanity, destroying his identity. He tried to fight, to stop the process, but all it did was make it even more painful. All he could do, was lie down in impossible pain as his entire mind was torn to pieces, until he was still.

Minutes passed, not a single movement coming from the body.

Until the empty mind was filled with a new life, just like a new page is written down.

Opening her eyes slowly, she looked up at the sky above her, smiling at the feeling of wellness that took hold of her. She was at home, in the sea, lying onto the ocean floor, her fin moving up and down lazily in the cool water. But most importantly, she was in the gentle embrace of Lady Ocean, holding her through the water around her. She was not something material, consistant, existant. And yet, her presence could be felt all around in the welcoming environment of the ocean.

"How are you feeling, child?"

The mermaid slapped her tail against the sand, the serene smile remaining on her face, absolutely loving the calmness of the sea around her. The gentle voice of her Lady enchanted her soul, reminding her of a caring mother.

"I'm feeling good, mother."

A small, cristalline laugh echoed in her mind, making her smile widen. It was as if Ocean did not speak as much as she sung her words; she was but a voice and a presence, but what a voice she was.

"Go then, Océane. You have all the ocean for yourself, after all."

The warm, nurturing voice stopped talking, and the mermaid took in her surroundings.

The sea was calm, still, and its silence was reassuring. She could feel her apprehension of the world lessen, as she kicked her tail, gasping in surprise at the force of the appendage; she was sent rocketing through the water!

But her fright was soon replaced by a relaxed smile, as she kicked it again, not as powerfully this time, and enjoyed completely the feeling of wellness and control as she progressed through the infinity of her home.

* * *

It had taken her four days. Four entire days to recover; and, during these four days, the wildlife worried and ceased to really live. The wolves were wary, the hawks patrolled the borders of the lands with anxiety, the rabbits peaked out of their holes worriedly, the squirrels took refuge in the trunk of their trees, the deers hid away, too stressed to get to the river.

The forest and the plains of Ilshal were in a climate of tension.

That was until Lillia finally rose, having cried all the tears she could for now, and walked slowly away from her tree, the other part of herself, after a last glance at it.

She petted a wolfling as she passed by him, the small creature whimpering as he saw her tear-strained face, trying to wrap itself around her legs like a furball, to which she smiled weakly.

The dryad felt terrible; never before had she known such despair. Betrayed by the one human she trusted, cast aside like a spent torch, treated like nothing more than a monstruosity.

And yet, slowly, her cheery and optimistic personnality kicked in once more, as she saw all of the animals, her people, visibly perking up at her approach, the rabbits rushing to her feet and snuggling against her, the hawks screeching proudly as they came down onto a nearby rock and opened their wings, bowing their heads toward her, the deers ran alongside her through the plains, bringing a genuine smile onto her lips.

That human may have broken her heart, but now, she knew. She knew that his kind was not to be trusted... and that her true family, the animals of Ilshal, were there for her. Even the trees seemed to rustle at her approach; after all, she was more spiritually aking to them than to a human, and they knew that. They knew that she was Lillia, dryad linked to the first tree of this forest, their protector and sister.

The sun approached its fall, and, feeling like she needed a change in order to forget Mat, that human who stabed at her heart, she dared to go at the boundary beetween her lands, and the territory of the Ocean; the shore.

Her feet danced gracefully as she went there, innocently curious, admiring how different the sand felt under her feet; so much different than the green grass of her home.

She was standing beetween two worlds, at the rift of two different powers, and a solemn feeling took hold of her soul as she sat down and looked up at the sky, watching in silence the sun slowly lowering itself at the horizon, the sea seeming to glimmer under its dying light.

It was a beautiful scenery, a sight she had never seen before, preferring to stand onto a branch and see the sun going down along the mountains that marked the end of the lands of Ilshal.

Her lips curled up in a smile once again, and for an instant, she was the happy, bubbly Lillia once more.

A splash of water ended her tranquility. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, and her eyes widened at the sight before her.

A dozen of feet away, where the ocean floor went up to rush and embrace the sand of the shore, a figure emerged from the water, before looking straightly at her, and looking just as surprised.

It was a girl. Her face showed traits so beautiful, it was as if some being had chiseled them with great care, so that they would be utterly perfect; her long hair were a bright, vibrant orange, and her eyes two pools of chocolate brown, staring at her with a mix of shock, shyness, and curiosity.

They stared at each other for what felt like hours, the dryad taking in the face of the young woman in front of her, which made her blush, visibly uncomfortable as the green-haired girl in front of her stared at her.

Slowly, the dryad stoop up and walked toward the girl, who looked with confusion and apprehension, still immobile, her head the only part of her body above the water.

Lillia's steps led her to the water; slowly, more and more of her form advanced in the cool water, her long, green hair falling behind her like a shroud as she advanced toward that person who looked too shocked to move, or talk.

She stopped when the water reached around her waist, and reached out her hand toward the girl.

After considering it with hesitation for a minute, the latter swam closer to her, faster than she normally could have, and in a way that seemed odd ot the daugther of the earth.

Nevertheless, the gap was filled, and the orange-haired beauty slowly moved her arm up, her hand touching the dryad's, their fingers intertwining, taking a soft gasp out of them. What was a normal contact for humans, felt like the most intimate of touches for them; it was as if a warmth was spreading from their fingertips to their entire body from their point of contact. Lillia couldn't help but notice how different the stranger's hand felt; there was some sort of... webbing, beetween her fingers.

She was about to question it, when she felt something brush against her legs.

It felt large, scaly, and yet, graceful. Looking down, she raised an eyebrow, and her eyes widened as she saw a large tail moving around in the water...

Seconds later, the other girl pulled away and disappeared into the waves, visibly scared by her reaction.

"Wait!" called the dryad desperatly after the stranger, her whole body feeling suddenly cold as the contact ended.

A dozen of feet away, the girl's head resurfaced, looking back at her with an expression of longing, and apprehension. The dryad rushed in the water after her, but the figure shook her head and dove back, not to surface again.

After long minutes of silence, Lillia let out a sigh, looking at where the strange, strange girl had disappeared, and whispered softly into the night.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Océane sway away, away and away, both terrified and ashamed.

She only stopped kicking her tail when the beating of her heart went back to a normal rythm, and she settled herself onto the sand of the ocean floor, closing her eyes and laying her head against the ground.

She expected to be filled with the feeling of well-being the ocean normally gave her, but nothing more than a slight pang in her stomach came.

Opening her eyes and frowning, she tried to wrap up her mind about what was wrong.

That girl... that enchanting, beautiful, green-haired girl, with her innocent, adorable face, her round blue eyes, her revealed body and the utter grace in the way she moved...

Shaking her head, Océane looked down at her hands. She had felt so warm when the both of them held hands... for a moment, it seemed to her that she was feeling even better than when she swam peacefully in the ocean and enjoyed the underwater world. It was not a peaceful, calm feeling; it was powerful, vibrant, and yet warm sensation.

Her mind was clouded. She had always been a mermaid, and yet... it seemed to her as if it was the day she was born onto this earth. The feeling was odd; she knew things, but there were great voids in her memory, which she couldn't quite put her finger on. She had swam for the entire day, filled with calmness and joy as she explored the depths of her home, but there was this feeling gnawing at the back of her mind, this doubt, these questions; who was she?

And who was that girl who came up to her?


End file.
